Tag: Skip Johnson

Oklahoma baseball signs 16 players during first signing period

OU baseball is continuing its momentum from the 2020 season that was cut short. The Sooners signed 16 players during the signing period.

Oklahoma baseball is continuing its momentum from the 2020 season that was cut short.

The Sooners signed 15 players for the 2021 recruiting class during the first signing period in college baseball on Wednesday. The 16th member, Navarro College transfer pitcher Cooper Randall, was announced a day after on Thursday.

“We signed a class that will help us build on the strengths of our program,” Johnson said. “Led by recruiting coordinator Clay Overcash and assistant coach Clay Van Hook, our staff did an outstanding job shaping this group. These athletes bring a lot of athleticism, speed, power and arm strength in all areas, and should help us continue to compete at a high level in the future. We’re excited to officially welcome them to the Sooner family.”

Perfect Game rates Oklahoma’s 2021 signing class as the 24th best in college baseball and the third best in the Big 12. The Sooners signed 13 high school seniors and three junior college transfers.

Among the 15 members announced on Wednesday, nine are ranked among the top 15 prospects in their respective states (12 among the top 30) and 13 are rated among the top 500 players in the nation (three among the top 115), according to Perfect Game.

Here are the 15 Sooners who signed on Wednesday, per the press release from Oklahoma baseball:

Keegan Allen, a right-handed pitcher from Bentonville High School in Arkansas, is rated as the No. 2 overall prospect and No. 1 right-handed pitcher in Arkansas by Perfect Game. He is also ranked the No. 5 player and No. 3 right-hander in Arkansas and No. 197 nationally by Prep Baseball Report. The Rogers, Ark., product was a 2020 Area Code Games participant, and has posted a 1.85 ERA in his two high school seasons. He turned in a 1.62 ERA as a sophomore in 2019, earning all-state honors. 

Landon Boyd is a catcher from Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Phoenix, Ariz. Originally from Parker, Colo., he is rated as the No. 8 overall player and No. 1 catcher in Colorado and a top-500 player nationally by Perfect Game. He is also ranked as the No. 5 overall player and No. 1 catcher in the state of Colorado and a top-450 national recruit by Prep Baseball Report. Boyd was a 2020 Area Code Games participant and batted .336 in his two seasons at Legend High School in Colorado, including a .330 batting average as a sophomore in 2019.

Bode Brooks, a right-handed pitcher from Tuttle High School in Tuttle, Okla., is rated as the No. 12 overall prospect and No. 1 outfielder in Oklahoma, and a top-500 player nationally by Perfect Game. He has posted a 15-3 record and 1.74 ERA with 126 strikeouts in 117 innings over three high school seasons. He went 2-0 with a 2.02 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 16 innings during the brief 2020 season. As a sophomore in 2019, Brooks went 10-1 with a 1.01 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 70 innings, earning second-team Little All-City honors from The Oklahoman.

Aaron Calhoun, a right-handed pitcher from Pearland, Texas, is rated as the No. 97 prospect nationally and No. 9 in the state of Texas by Perfect Game. He is also ranked as the No. 24 player in the state of Texas and No. 198 nationally by Prep Baseball Report. He played in the 2020 Area Code Games, participated in the MLB/USA Baseball Dream Series in 2019 and ‘20 and attended the 2020 East Coast Pro Showcase. Calhoun posted a 2.21 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 12.2 innings during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season at Clear Brook High School.

Carter Campbell is a left-handed pitcher from Western Oklahoma State College. As a freshman at WOSC, he went 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA in 22 innings over eight appearances during the 2020 season that was shortened due to COVID-19. A native of Keller, Texas, Campbell led Keller High School to two district championships and earned Texas all-state honorable mention recognition.

Wallace Clark, an infielder from Holland Hall in Tulsa, Okla., is rated as the No. 6 overall recruit and No. 2 shortstop in the state of Oklahoma, and a top-500 prospect nationally by Perfect Game. He batted .500 with a .821 slugging percentage and .650 on-base percentage in 15 games during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. He earned first-team all-district and second-team All-World honors from the Tulsa World in 2019 after hitting .506 with 30 RBIs, a .909 slugging and .634 OBP.

Brock Daniels, an infielder from St. John Vianney High School in St. Louis, Mo., is rated as the No. 3 overall player and No. 1 shortstop in Missouri, and the No. 112 prospect nationally by Perfect Game. He is also ranked as the No. 3 player and No. 148 recruit nationally by Prep Baseball Report. Daniels has batted .340 in each of his two varsity seasons. He hit four home runs and stole 15 bases as a sophomore in 2019, earning first-team all-district and second-team all-state honors.

Luc Fladda is a left-handed pitcher from Chesterfield, Mo., who attends Lafayette Senior High School. He is rated as the No. 28 overall recruit and No. 2 left-handed pitcher in Missouri, and a top-500 prospect nationally by Perfect Game. As a sophomore in 2019, he posted a 4-1 record with a 1.75 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 40 innings, earning all-conference honors.

Brayden Luikart is a left-handed pitcher and outfielder from Lafayette High School in St. Joseph, Mo. He is rated as the No. 26 overall prospect and No. 4 outfielder in Missouri, and a top-500 recruit nationally by Perfect Game. A two-way player, he batted .491 with four home runs, and posted a 2.50 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 36 innings as a sophomore in 2019. As a freshman he went 5-3 with a 2.10 ERA and hit .458 with two homers and a .543 OBP, earning all-state honorable mention.

Max McGwire is an infielder from Capistrano Valley High School in Irvine, Calif. He is rated as the No. 69 overall prospect nationally, and the No. 8 recruit and the top first baseman in the state of California by Perfect Game. A 2020 PG Preseason All-American, he participated in the 2020 Area Code Games and played in the 2020 Perfect Game All-American Classic, which was held in Oklahoma City. His father is former Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire.

Adam Moser, an outfielder from Fairview High School in Boulder, Colo., is rated as the No. 7 prospect overall and No. 1 outfielder in Colorado, and a top-500 recruit nationally by Perfect Game. He is also ranked as the No. 6 overall player in Colorado and a top-460 player nationally by Prep Baseball Report. A 2020 Area Code Games participant, he batted .301 and posted a .416 on-base percentage as a sophomore in 2019.

Jackson Nicklaus, an infielder from Stilwell, Kan., is ranked as the No. 4 overall prospect and No. 1 shortstop in Kansas and a top-325 recruit nationally by Prep Baseball Report. He is also ranked as the No. 6 recruit in Kansas and a top-500 player nationally by Perfect Game. As a sophomore in 2019 at Blue Valley High School, Nicklaus earned first-team all-conference and all-state honors after batting .400 with a .532 on-base percentage, 15 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.  

Blake Priest, a right-handed pitcher from Enid High School in Enid, Okla., is rated as the No. 26 overall prospect in the state by Perfect Game. He has posted a career 7-2 record with two shutouts and 57 strikeouts in 52 innings. Priest tossed a no-hitter during his sophomore season of 2018 and went 3-1 with 20 strikeouts in 21 innings. He went 1-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 16 strikeouts during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.

David Sandlin is a right-handed pitcher from Eastern Oklahoma State College. As a freshman at EOSC in 2020, went 1-0 with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings during the shortened season. A native of Owasso, Okla., he posted a 5-0 record and 1.18 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 42.1 innings in 2019 as a senior at Owasso High School, tossing five complete games.

John Spikerman, an outfielder from Lake Creek High School in Montgomery, Texas, is ranked as the No. 52 recruit in the state of Texas and a top-500 prospect nationally by Prep Baseball Report. He is also ranked as a top-500 player nationally by Perfect Game. He batted .393 as a sophomore in 2019, earning first-team all-district 20-5A recognition.

[vertical-gallery id=20233]

Two Oklahoma baseball players have reportedly entered the transfer portal

OU baseball is set to return a haul of a roster for the 2020 season. Some transfers are to be expected and it looks like that time has come.

Oklahoma takes series from San Diego State with walk-off win in rubber match

The weather was new to players from San Diego, and it worked out in OU’s favor. The Sooners walked-off San Diego State to win the series.

NORMAN, Okla. — The weather was new to players from San Diego, California, and it worked out in Oklahoma’s favor.

When the first pitch was thrown, it was 56 degrees with the winds howling out of the south 20 miles per hour or faster. By games end, it was colder with heavy, but playable, rain.

In the bottom of the tenth-inning, the Aztecs had two of their five errors, with the last one costing San Diego State (10-6) the series in a result of a walk-off series win by No. 11/15 Oklahoma (13-4).

 

“Biggest thing that I got is that baseball is game of imperfection and it showed today,” said head coach Skip Johnson after his teams 9-8 walk-off win and series win. “It really ultimately came down to three hard (running out a batted ball to first base) … you talk about play hard, run hard 90s … if their foot comes up or they throw it in the dirt, it was huge when you run those hard 90 and that is really what ultimately separated the game at the end of the day.

“Sundays are always kind of a crazy day in college baseball it seems, so I like the spirit of our team and us coming back and finding a way to tie the game and ending up finding a way to win the game.”

Oklahoma struck early and often in the series finale.

The Sooners put up a crooked number in the first inning thanks to three-straight singles and a two-out, two RBI single by freshman center fielder Connor Beichler. Another run came through in the second and two more in the third with a sacrifice fly by Diego Muniz and a two-out RBI single by Conor McKenna to jump out to a 6-1 lead.

Dane Acker took a step back from throwing a no-hitter in his last start, as expected, by only making it 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs.

San Diego State took a one-run lead in the eighth after four singles and two sacrifice flies off of Wyatt Olds. Then, the Sooners took advantage of an error in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game and those two in the tenth to get the win.

Oklahoma got two shutdown innings off of Jason Ruffcorn in the ninth and tenth innings—his first appearance since recording a save against Arkansas eight days ago. The Sooners closer finished with the win, allowing no baserunners, no walks and striking out four, including striking out the side in the tenth.

Johnson got production from the bottom of his lineup as McKenna and Brandon Zaragoza went 4-for-7 combined with a walk, a run and an RBI in the series finale.

Oklahoma returns to action on Tuesday night against UT-Arlington before heading out west to California for a four-game weekend series against Cal Poly.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Behind Levi Prater and the long ball, Oklahoma forces rubber match with San Diego State

Behind Levi Prater and three solo home runs, Oklahoma wins game two 8-4 over San Diego State, forcing rubber match on Sunday.

NORMAN, Okla. — Levi Prater roared.

He slapped his glove and fist pumped a couple times.

“He’s going to go out and give you effort,” said head coach Skip Johnson on Friday night after Oklahoma lost the opening game of the San Diego State series 5-4. “It’s not about winning or losing, you know that he’s going to give you what he’s got everyday. That’s what is good about having him in the two slot. He’s going to give you everything he’s got—that’s what’s huge.”

Prater gave Johnson exactly what his head coach knew he would in the Sooners 8-4 series-tying win against San Diego State on Saturday.

The Aztecs tagged the left-hander for five hits in two innings and change of the game, ambushing first-pitch and 1-1 fastballs with standout San Diego State third baseman Casey Schmitt lacing a triple to right-center field. After Schmitt’s triple, Prater went to work.

The junior southpaw got 15 of the final 16 hitters out, all of which came after the triple. Prater didn’t allow a single hit, walking only one and striking out 10 in the span. He finished with seven innings pitched, allowing five hits, one run, two walks and struck out 13 total hitters.

“Really impressive,” Johnson said after the win. “He didn’t have his command with his changeup like he did last week or the week before that, but he had command with his breaking ball and had command with his fastball and that really got him over the hump in the game more so than anything.”

Help came for Prater the way of a freshman.

Peyton Graham has been the everyday third baseman to start his Oklahoma career. He hit his first career home run with a towering shot off the train tracks in left field at Minute Maid Park last weekend. Graham went 2-for-5 in the series opening loss on Friday, then added on to the start in the Sooners game two win with the first two runs of the game.

Both came from two solo home runs. On the week, the freshman is 8-for-15 with two doubles and two home runs in four games.

Oklahoma had a big fifth-inning, knocking in three runs on a pair of singles. Then in the sixth, catcher Justin Mitchell put the icing on the cake of the Sooners win.

The junior came into Saturday batting. 364 and slugging .576. Mitchell was brushed off the plate with the first pitch up-and-in. The next pitch ended up behind the outfield berm in left, his bat flipped towards the San Diego State and a slow jog around the bases as Oklahoma took a 6-1 lead.

Mitchell and Aztec third baseman Casey Schmitt had words as he jogged around third, and then Oklahoma’s catcher was met at home with some pleasantries by home plate umpire Christopher Griffith. Both dugouts had been warned earlier in the game.

A highly-anticipated rubber match to determine the winner of the series is set for Sunday. Oklahoma will be going with Dane Acker, who is coming off a no-hitter against LSU, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Oklahoma pitching rotation, game times for series against San Diego State

Oklahoma is hot heading into the fourth weekend of the season. The Sooners have won three-straight against ranked opponents and are 11-3.

Oklahoma is hot heading into the fourth weekend of the season.

The No. 9/11 Sooners (11-3) have won three-straight games against ranked opponents (Arkansas, LSU and Dallas Baptist) and welcome in another tough opponent to end their week at home.

San Diego State (9-4) split is coming off a split four-game series at home against Oregon State last weekend before winning a midweek game against No. 17/17 ranked Long Beach State. The Astecs head on the road as the 55th ranked team in RPI.

Oklahoma has already played 11 quadrant one games (teams in RPI top-100) and are 8-3. The Sooners losses have come to Virginia (6-0), Illinois State (7-5) and Missouri (8-7).

Skip Johnson’s pitching staff has lived up to the expectations thus far. The Sooners boast a 2.54 ERA as a staff, striking out 174 hitters in 124 innings while only walking or hitting 53. Opponents are batting a staggering .197 against Oklahoma’s pitching staff.

Sunday starter Dane Acker threw a no-hitter last weekend against LSU.

Here is everything you need to know about Oklahoma’s weekend series against San Diego State.

PITCHING ROTATION

FRIDAY

Oklahoma: Cade Cavalli—JR—RHP—1-1, 3.24 ERA, 16.2ip, 16h, 6r/6er, 2bb, 28k
San Diego State: Michael Paredes—SO—RHP—0-1, 4.20 ERA, 15.0ip, 18h, 9r/7er, 4bb, 13k

SATURDAY

Oklahoma: Levi Prater—JR—LHP—0-0, 4.32 ERA, 16.2ip, 15h, 8r/8er, 8bb, 20k
San Diego State: Troy Melton—SO—RHP—3-0, 1.06 ERA, 17ip, 10h, 2r/2er, 6bb, 21k

SUNDAY

Oklahoma: Dane Acker—JR—RHP—1-1, 2.57 ERA, 21ip, 7h, 6r/6er, 4bb, 25k
San Diego State: TBA

WHERE: Norman, Oklahoma

WHEN:

Friday—6:30 p.m. CT
Saturday—2 p.m. CT
Sunday—1 p.m. CT

HOW TO WATCH/STREAM: SoonerSports.tv

HOW TO LISTEN: Sportstalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF in Oklahoma City

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Oklahoma baseball makes big move in polls after statement weekend

After a statement weekend in Houston, the Oklahoma baseball team has made a big move in the polls.

Many unknowns existed about where Oklahoma stood among the best teams in college baseball. Those questions have been answered.

Skip Johnson and his 2020 club are off to a resounding start. After a season-opening series win over Virginia in Pensacola, Florida, the Sooners made a statement at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in Houston by beating then-No. 6/9 Arkansas 6-3 and then-ranked No. 11/14 LSU 1-0.

This resulted in a rankings surge: Oklahoma moved up seven spots to No. 15 on D1Baseball and up four spots to No. 11 on Baseball America.

The Sooners are 9-3 to start the year. They’ll play host to No. 21/25 Dallas Baptist in a mid-week game Tuesday night and another one later in the season. Conference foe TCU has moved into the rankings at No. 22 in both polls, and Texas Tech remains a top-10 team. Arkansas and LSU remain ranked after 0-3 and 1-2 weekends, respectively.

Oklahoma and Dallas are scheduled to start 6:30 p.m. CT.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Oklahoma baseball wins three against Illinois State in four-game series

The Oklahoma baseball team continued its winning ways in the second weekend of play. The Sooners took three of four from Illinois State.

NORMAN, Okla. — The No. 16/23 ranked Oklahoma baseball team continued its winning ways in the second weekend of play.

The Sooners hosted Missouri Valley Conference member Illinois State for a four-game series. The two played doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday to get the four-game set complete. Oklahoma came out victorious, winning three, despite the margin being very thin.

Head coach Skip Johnson got the weekend started with his deep pitching staff. Oklahoma notched two wins while only allowing nine hits and two runs in the doubleheader on Friday.

Ace Cade Cavalli provided seven innings in his first home start in game one, allowing six hits, a walk, a run and struck out nine. Wyatt Olds did much of the same in game two, throwing six innings in his first start of the year, allowed one hit, two walks, one run and also struck out nine. Jason Ruffcorn picked up two saves in two opportunities on Friday—one a one-run save, the other a three-run save.

Oklahoma won game one 2-1 and game two 4-1.

Saturday, though, had a lot less control.

The Sooners and Illinois State we’re tied up at two in the eighth inning of game three. A Peyton Graham sacrifice fly to right-center scored Tanner Tredaway to break the tie. Jaret Godman picked up a one-out save in the ninth inning with Oklahoma winning 3-2.

Levi Prater has a productive first start in game three. The junior southpaw was barreled up more than he’d like, but he finished with 6.1 innings pitched, allowing six hits, two walks, two runs and struck out seven.

The Missouri Valley Conference foes got on the board in game four. A grand slam and solo home run in back-to-back fashion against Oklahoma’s Dane Acker in the third inning of game four proved to be too much. Illinois State tacked on two more in the eighth to ensure the 7-5 win.

Acker had a quality start outside of that one big inning. In his home debut, the San Jacinto College native went seven innings, allowed six hits, five runs, three walks and struck out eight.

Against what was an above average at best pitching staff, Oklahoma managed to only hit .221 as a team, hit .119 with runners in scoring position and outscore Illinois State 14-11 in the four game series. The bright spot was center fielder Tanner Tredaway, who went 8-for-17 on the weekend with three doubles, two triples and a home run.

As expected, the Sooners staff dominated, holding Illinois State to .195 hitting as a team on the weekend and allowed six runs in 35-of-the-36 innings played.

Oklahoma has the week off before traveling to Houston for the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic. The Sooners will take on college baseball powers Arkansas, LSU and have a game against Missouri sandwiched in-between.

Oklahoma to be battle-tested, ready for conference play in March

No more of the unknown. It at least appears that way for Oklahoma baseball 2020. The Sooners are set to play a tough slate this season.

No more of the unknown.

It at least appears that way for Oklahoma baseball 2020.

A year ago, the Sooners played one team in non-conference play (Dallas Baptist) that made the NCAA Tournament, and that was for a single mid-week game. Oklahoma played six games in non-conference play against teams who made the NCAA Tournament in 2018, but those, too, all came in mid-week games against small school teams who had to win their conference to make the tournament.

That idea has since passed, and the Sooners will be battle tested for conference play and beyond this season.

Oklahoma is set to start the year with a three-game series against a perennial NCAA Tournament team up until the last two years in Virginia. Then, two weeks later, the Sooners will get to go up against college baseball powers Arkansas and LSU in the Shriners Classic in Houston. Oklahoma will play host to another perennial NCAA Tournament team in San Diego State for a three-game series and also have mid-week contests against Dallas Baptist and Arkansas prior to conference play starting.

Head coach Skip Johnson and his No. 24 ranked team are set to play 10 top-25 matchups based off the preseason D1Baseball.com top-25 when you include Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

There will be no question about who this Oklahoma baseball team will be by the end of the season.

Or even by the time the Big 12 conference opening series against Texas in March.

The Sooners and Virginia will kick off the 2020 college baseball season Friday night at 6 p.m. CT in Pensacola, Florida.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Oklahoma baseball given 31 television broadcasted games for 2020 season

There will be plenty of opportunities to watch Oklahoma play baseball in 2020. The Sooners will be broadcasted for 31 games for the season.

There will be plenty of opportunities to watch Oklahoma play baseball in 2020.

The Sooners announced on Wednesday that 31 of the 56 games this upcoming season will be televised.

Oklahoma will have its first broadcasted game on March 20 against rival Texas on SoonerSports.tv, with the rest of the series televised on FOX Sports Oklahoma. Eight more games will be broadcasted on FOX Sports Oklahoma. The Sooners will appear with full broadcasts on SoonerSports.tv, which will require a premium subscription, six other times outside of the home conference opener against Texas.

Head coach Skip Johnson’s 2020 team will play three games on ESPNU when they travel to TCU (March 29), Texas Tech (April 10) and Oklahoma State (April 19). Eleven additional games are scheduled to be broadcasted on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.

The remaining home games in Feb. and early March will be shown on SoonerSports.tv with the radio call.

Oklahoma baseball will begin the 2020 season on Friday against Virginia at 6 p.m.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]